On This Day (01 Oct) 1553, Mary I was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey; the first coronation of a queen regnant in England.
Mary had been proclaimed queen on 19 Jul 1553, following the Privy Council abandoning their support for the claim of 'Quene Jane' - Lady Jane Grey; Mary herself was informed the following day whilst continuing to rally her troops at Framlingham Castle, Suffolk.
Mary had left Framlingham the end of Jul, and initially rode to Wanstead Hall, Essex, where she was met by her half-sister Elizabeth. Accompanied by Elizabeth, Mary arrived in London victorious on 03 Aug 1553, where she took possession of the Tower of London (where Jane Grey, husband Guildford Dudley, and father-in-law John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland were still held prisoner).
Mary, accompanied by a large procession, including Elizabeth and former stepmother Anne of Cleves, left the Tower of London on 30 Sep 1553, making their way to the Palace of Westminster. The procession included many of Mary's Catholic allies and sympathisers, some of whom had been released from imprisonment and pardoned following her accession as queen. Passing through the streets of London, they were greeted by supporters, with pageants being performed at various points on the route.
On Sunday 01 Oct 1553, the coronation ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey, where traditionally English monarchs had been crowned since Edward I in 1274.
The ceremony was conducted by her ally Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester; Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury had recently been arrested for his role in Jane Grey's attempted accession to the throne, and would later be executed in 1556.
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